GAME NOTES: The Vanderbilt Commodores continue their four-game season-opening homestand at Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday night when they take on the Tennessee State Tigers in a preliminary round of the Barclays Center Classic.

TSU opened its season with three straight home games, coming away with a 2-1 record. The Tigers suffered a 84-67 loss to Southern Illinois on Nov. 18 but bounced back with a 75-60 win over Fisk on Thursday. They'll play just one home game in their next 11 contests.

Vanderbilt has gone about its business in its first two games, beating Trevecca Nazarene (83-56) and most recently Lipscomb on Thursday (72-62). The Commodores are 2-0 for the second straight season.

The Commodores have won all seven previous matchups with TSU, most recently claiming an 84-71 decision in December of 2009.

The Tigers were tied with Fisk early in the second half of their latest contest but used an 11-3 run to separate themselves before eventually settling on a 15-point victory. Despite a disappointing effort from 3-point range (1- of-11), the team still had an impressive field goal shooting night overall (.510), and it outscored Fisk at the foul line, 22-3. Xavier Richards shot 9- of-11 from the floor en route to 21 points while adding 11 rebounds as well. Darreon Reddick (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Zachary Lee (10 points, 11 rebounds) also notched double-doubles.

TSU has displayed great balance early in the season, outshooting its opponents from the field, 49.1 percent to 37.7 percent, while boasting great scoring (+9.7) and rebounding (+9.3) margins. Jay Harris is the leading scorer with 16.7 ppg. Richards (12.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg) is a mainstay in the paint, while Marcus Roper (12.7 ppg), Reddick (11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Lee (9.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) round out a strong corps.

Although the Commodores saw their 15-point first-half advantage dwindle to just three with under 11 minutes to play in the game, they rebounded down the stretch by bringing their lead back to as many as 16 inside the final two minutes. They held Lipscomb to only 33.3 percent field goal shooting while knocking down just shy of 46 percent of their shots. Damian Jones put up a game-high 21 points in 29 minutes of action. Luke Kornet and Wade Baldwin IV both netted 11 points, with Baldwin adding seven rebounds, five assists and three steals as well.

On the season, Vanderbilt is shooting 47.8 percent from the field for 77.5 ppg while holding opponents to just 59.0 ppg on 31.1 percent shooting. It has also dominated on the glass with a +15.0 rebounding margin. Jones leads the SEC in scoring in the early going with 22.5 ppg on 64.3 percent field goal shooting. Riley LaChance (11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg), Kornet (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Baldwin IV (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 apg) are also off to strong starts.

A talented TSU squad should give Vanderbilt its toughest task to date, but the Commodores have played well so far and shouldn't have much of a problem keeping their home success alive.